BOHOL’s Coastal Law Enforcement Council (CLEC) cluster 7 held its first council meeting on Tuesday, March 21, to stop illegal fishing and other activities harmful to marine resources on the eastern coast of the province.
The meeting, held at Roxas Park in Garcia Hernandez, was attended by members from four municipalities, namely Lila, Dimiao, Valencia, and Garcia Hernandez.
As the CLEC-7 chairman, Garcia Hernandez Mayor Jess Baja said that the organization is serious about combatting illegal marine activities in coastal areas, particularly stopping illegal fishing and the destruction of coral reefs. “We are committed to making CLEC work. We are serious about putting a stop to illegal fishing. This has been a recurring problem for years and we want this to be solved fast,” Baja said.
Along with Baja in the meeting were Valencia Municipal Mayor Dionisio Neil Balite, representatives of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)- Region 7, the Philippine Coast Guard, PNP Maritime Group, DENR-CENRO, Bohol Provincial Environment Management Office, fish wardens, and environment and agricultural Officers from the four municipalities.
Baja added that all four municipalities, along with other agencies involved in CLEC, are committed to strengthening coastal surveillance and information education campaigns for residents, to raise environmental awareness and protect the marine flora and fauna in their municipal waters.
The meeting tackled different matters and planned different specific activities aimed towards creating better coastal management, such as the implementation of stricter coastal surveillance, harmonizing fishery codes and ordinances, coastal clean-up activities, and capability training for bantay-dagat and fish wardens. Members of the organization also pushed for a request to BFAR-7 and the Philippine Mining Association to provide speedboats for surveillance personnel.
CLEC is a multi-sectoral and multi-agency approach created in 2001 aimed to address issues surrounding marine ecological problems in Bohol. The organization currently has eight clusters composed of different coastal municipalities in the Province. (PiMO/GMC)
